Turmeric Coconut Basmati Rice

This turmeric coconut basmati rice is a flavorful rice side dish recipe that’s easy to make! Garlic, ginger, and onion are sautéed and cooked with basmati rice and turmeric in a coconut milk/water mixture for a creamy dish, and topped with chopped fresh basil for serving.

Sometimes I jump right in when it comes to trying new ingredients (well, new to me ingredients at least), and sometimes I get there a bit slower.

Take chia seeds, for instance. I worked up the courage to buy a bag last summer, and promptly shoved it in the cabinets for a few weeks. Maybe it was the fact that they get huge when they’re in contact with liquid that freaked me out? I envisioned something like that I Love Lucy episode where the expanding bread loaf in the oven pins her against the other side of the kitchen, or the Strega Nona book about Big Anthony and the magic pasta pot taking over the town.

And now we have turmeric. So orange! So many supposed health benefits! But what does it taste like! After a few weeks of sitting idle in my spice cabinet, it got put to work in this turmeric coconut basmati rice and now it’s joined the ranks of garlic powder, dried basil, and co. in my spice rotation.

Brian’s mom makes a coconut basmati rice that we ate during our visit over the holidays, and ever since I’ve had a vague coconut/creamy rice craving that I just can’t shake. What better way to satisfy that than to call home and ask for the recipe? 🙂

This turmeric coconut basmati rice is a take on its inspiration, and includes onion, freshly grated ginger, minced garlic, and fresh basil leaves along with basmati rice cooked in a lite coconut milk and water combination.

I added ground turmeric to the mix and instantly it turned an unremarkable looking rice dish (as rice tends to be) into a warm and bright YELLOW rice. Very bright. And we loved it! I always have a can or two of coconut milk hanging around, and with this dish not taking that long to make, I’m anticipating this turmeric coconut basmati rice will be gracing our table with regularity from now on.

Now I guess I need to find my next new-to-me ingredient to be suspicious of for a little bit. 😉

This turmeric coconut basmati rice is a flavorful rice side dish recipe that’s easy to make! Garlic, ginger, and onion are sautéed and cooked with basmati rice and turmeric in a coconut milk/water mixture for a creamy dish, and topped with chopped fresh basil for serving.

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add diced onion, minced garlic, grated ginger, and salt and stir. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, occasionally stirring, or until onions have become golden and soft, but haven't yet browned.

Add the rice and turmeric to the saucepan and stir until evenly combined. Let rice cook for just a few minutes, stirring frequently, and then add coconut milk and water. Stir to combine, and then raise heat to let liquid come to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cover the saucepan. Let rice cook for about 15-18 minutes, or until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Fluff the rice with a fork and stir in chopped fresh basil for serving.

Recipe Notes

Rinsing the basmati rice before cooking it helps it fluff up while cooking.

Hi there! I need to make an Indian rice dish. I have a question though……This recipe sounds really good but I don’t like coconut (at least the gritty strands I guess), but I was wondering if the coconut taste is very noticeable?

Hi Mary Lou, in my opinion the coconut taste isn’t that noticeable at all, especially with all the other flavors. The coconut milk is smooth and not “coconutty” in flavor like a product such as sweetened flaked coconut or cream of coconut would be. I don’t think you’ll have a problem with it. Hope that helps!

Hi Terry, besides a slightly different flavor jasmine rice may be a bit stickier. I haven’t used it in this recipe so I’m not sure how it would compare, but I’d imagine it wouldn’t be a dealbreaker. Just personal preference. Please let me know if you give it a try!

Okay, until yesterday, I thought curry was a single spice and not a blend of spices. That shows you the level of my Indian cooking experience. Until yesterday I had never, ever attempted or made anything Indian.
This is an amazing recipe!!
1.) Easy 2.) Flavorful 3.) My Persian friend who makes amazing rice and is an amazing Persian cook gave me a thumbs up when she tasted it.

Question. Can I substitute cauliflower rice for basmati? Should I adjust the recipe in any way. We’re trying to do low carb for Thanksgiving and I am considering using this recipe, but substituting the rice.

Hi Carmen, I haven’t made this particular recipe with cauliflower rice, but my concern just subbing it in for the basmati without making any other changes would result in rice that’s too soggy. I’d prep the cauliflower rice in your preferred manner (mine is detailed in this post, minus the pesto part: https://www.mysequinedlife.com/parmesan-pesto-cauliflower-rice/ ), adding in the turmeric and salt as it’s cooking. Then when it’s done cooking, I’d fold in the sauteed onion/garlic/ginger. If you’d like it creamier at that point I’d add a little bit of coconut milk (or your preferred milk) to taste. I hope that’s helpful!

I cant believe the very first commentor said this was bland. Must be a heavy smoker. I made this rice this afternoon as part of a big cook for the week’s meals. Im going to bake some tofu and pack it for lunches. The only thing i did differently was simply use all coconut water. I didnt have any coconut. I used a purple onion which was pretty. The flavors were terrific. Sweet and savory. Will be good with tofu. Thank you!

Hi Helen, I don’t yet have nutrition info on my recipes (working on it!), but I plugged in this recipe to a nutritional calculator (My Fitness Pal) and calculated the following: approximately 160 calories/5g fat/2g protein per serving. That’s based on 6 servings. I hope you enjoy!

Hi Coco, tofu would be great with this. I don’t have any tofu recipes on my site (even though I like it), but I found this one that looks great: http://www.veganinsanity.com/recipes/tofu-teriyaki-bowl/ . I’m thinking you could prepare the tofu/veggies/sauce as the recipe states and serve it over or alongside this rice. In fact I may do that myself this week because it looks so good. Or maybe with something like an Asian-inspired veggie burger? This one looks hearty and features black beans: http://www.theleangreenbean.com/asian-black-bean-burgers/ . I hope that helps!

Hi I was wondering if this could be adapted in some way to use cauliflower rice? Have you tried it? Any ideas would be very helpful, hubby is recently diagnosed with diabetes so I have to find ways to lower his carb intake.

Hi Lea, I’ve never tried this recipe with cauliflower rice, but my concern would be that subbing in cauliflower rice and keeping everything else the same would make it too soggy with the liquid. I just checked out this epicurious article that compared different cauliflower rice cooking methods, and they suggest their microwave method: http://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/the-best-way-to-make-cauliflower-rice-article – I’m thinking you could prepare the cauliflower rice in your preferred method and then add in the sauteed onion/garlic/ginger/salt, as well as the turmeric/fresh herbs and maybe a tiny bit of coconut milk to make it creamy (if it doesn’t make it soggy). That way you’d get a similar flavor. Please let me know if you give it a shot, and best of luck with adapting recipes to be lower carb! 🙂

5 stars! Great recipe, and you can expand on it with any ingredients you like. I added thinly sliced mushrooms and finely chopped broccoli while the rice sauteed, and added 1 tsp hot curry, as these are all items my family likes. I would HIGHLY recommend this as an alternative to the high sodium, pre-packaged rice dishes from Knorr or Lipton. Curiously, I think it tastes better after a night in the fridge, similar to any dish (like jambalaya), where flavors meld even better over time. Try this, you won’t be disappointed!

Hi Jeff, not a silly question! I use dry rice at that step to toast it at little bit before adding the liquid and allowing it to cook completely. Just for a few minutes, and stirring it up frequently so that it doesn’t burn. Hope that helps!

Hi Beth, yes the rice will cook completely. I add the dry, uncooked rice to the saucepan to toast it just for a minute or two – very briefly. Then all the liquid is added (7 oz coconut milk and 1 1/4 cup water) so the rice absorbs it all as it comes to a boil then simmers for the next 15-20 minutes. The rice cooks in liquid, it’s just added to the saucepan just before the liquid. I hope that helps!

thanks, I’m about to start it now. sounds delish.
all done . So glad I doubled the recipe. It was amazing !! I went all the way to costco to get the rice and it was well worth a saturday trip to Costco.

Fantastic! Like a party in my mouth!!!! I actually stuck to the recipe exactly which is pretty much a first for me. I’d like to figure out a way to get a little more spice /heat without changing the taste, cause it is sublime!!

Oh my god this rice is SOO GOOD! For anyone with a rice cooker-I sautéed the onion, garlic & ginger in coconut oil then added it to my zojirushi rice cooker with the rice, water, turmeric and coconut milk. it came out amazing. Thanks for the great recipe!

On a scale of 1-5, this was a 0. Sooooo bland, really, really disappointed– this time spent preparing it was just a waste and so was all the ingredients in it I threw it away Was a waste of time and a waste of ingredients I threw all of it away and prepared some red potatoes making dinner late

Hi Carolyn, I like to pair this rice with salmon. Usually something that has an Asian-type marinade and either baked or grilled. Someone else wrote in that they paired it with garlic turmeric shrimp and enjoyed it, too! It’s flavorful without being too overpowering, so I can see it pairing well with chicken, beef, etc. — especially if there is a soy sauce- or ginger-based sauce. I hope you enjoy!

This. Was. Gorgeous. I feel like I can still taste it (in a good way). It made sense to make a double recipe since 7oz of coconut milk is half a can, so we ate the lunch leftovers for supper and still have some left. Even my kids raved about this and couldn’t get enough. I admit I was nervous about the large amount of turmeric (most recipes call for 1/4 tsp or so) but I swallowed my doubt and wow! And these are ingredients always in my pantry as we love ethnic food. A big win.

Hi! I'm Alyssa, a twenty-something podcast junkie with a penchant for baking, boots, and pretty little things. Also strong coffee and spunky dogs. There's a good chance I can be found in the kitchen, wearing sequins, and dreaming of DIY. ♥